Review of Hill's Science Diet Small & Toy Adult LightWith Liver

According to our data, this Hill's Science Diet recipe provides complete & balanced nutrition for the maintenance of adult dogs. In other words, this formula is AAFCO approved.

Unlike other AAFCO approved dog foods which rely in laboratory testing to substantiate nutritional adequacy, this recipe has undergone feeding trials. In the pet food industry, feeding trials are often considered to be the superior testing method.

Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Hill's Science Diet Small and Toy Adult Light With Liver provides complete and balanced nutrition for the maintenance of adult dogs.

Ingredient Review

We'll begin this review of Hill's Science Diet Small and Toy Adult Light With Liver with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.

The first ingredient is water, which of course provides moisture.

The second ingredient is whole grain corn. Whole grain corn is the entire corn kernel (the germ, bran, and endosperm). Corn is a cereal grain which provides a modest amount of vitamins, minerals, and plant based protein. It also happens to be one of the most controversial ingredients in dog food.

Proponents of corn claim that corn is highly digestible and an excellent source of protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids.

Opponents however believe that positive claims in regards to corn are either half-truths or completely false, we'll discuss a few of the opposing arguments.

In regards to digestibility, the claims of "highly digestible" are only true if corn is processed into a meal or flour and subsequently cooked. In regards to the protein contribution, we must note that corn is a plant based protein which does not contain all of the necessary amino acids required by dogs to sustain life. Therefore substituting corn for meat is an unsuitable substitution and actually degrades the overall protein quality of the product.

Finally, we'll discuss the claims about vitamins and minerals in corn. Although corn does provide many vitamins and minerals, it not necessarily an exceptional ingredient in this regards. There are many other ingredients which are more complete and biologically appropriate. Therefore the usage of corn as the primary ingredient in dog food should certainly warrant further questioning.

The third ingredient is pork by-products. By-products are defined by AAFCO as the "non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals." Thus, pork by-products contain nearly all parts of pork which are typically not consumed by humans. These parts include the liver, lung, spleen, kidney, stomach, blood, intestine, bone, etc.

Like other meat by-products, pork by-products are considered controversial, mainly because they are inexpensive ingredients which consumers have equated with slaughterhouse waste. However, manufactures and many experts claim that animal by-products are unjustly criticized. Proponents state that "named" by-products, such as pork by-products, supply many important nutrients required by dogs.

The fourth ingredient is soybean mill run. Soybean mill run is the by-product of dehulled soybean meal production. This ingredient is for the most part made up of soybean hulls, which are nutritionally empty. Many pet owners and experts believe soybean mill run is an inexpensive low quality filler and therefore we've marked soybean mill run a controversial ingredient.

The fifth ingredient is pork liver. Pork liver is an excellent organ meat which provides high quality protein and fat. In addition, pork liver provides many essential vitamins and minerals.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Hill's Science Diet Small and Toy Adult Light With Liver are not as important as the first five ingredients.

However, collectively they still have a significant impact on the overall quality of the product. Therefore, we'll continue discussing the remaining ingredients in this Hill's Science Diet recipe.

Next we have corn gluten meal. Corn gluten meal is a by-product from the production of various corn products (corn starch, corn syrup, etc). It's very high in protein (nearly 60% protein) and therefore can significant boost the protein content of the product. Because plant based proteins such as corn gluten meal are inferior to meat based proteins (lack many essential amino acids), they are not suitable substitutes.

The next ingredient is natural chicken liver flavor. As the name implies, natural chicken liver flavor provides chicken liver flavor to the product. This particular flavor is derived from natural sources which may or may not include real chicken liver.

Then we have powdered cellulose. Powdered cellulose is produced from minuscule pieces of wood pulp and plant fibers. Other than its fiber content, powdered cellulose lacks any nutritional contribution.

Moving on, we have soybean oil. Soybean oil is an omega-6 fatty acid source. Unlike other oils (flax, canola, etc), soybean oil does not provide omega-3 fatty acids; However, the balancing omega-3 fatty acids are most likely supplied by another oil or fat source in the product.

Moving on with this review, we have egg product. Egg product consists of shell-free eggs which are easy to digest and contain high quality protein. Egg protein is often given the highest biological value (BV). The BV metric measures the usability of the ingredient's protein.

The next ingredient in this review is calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is a naturally occurring mineral supplement. Although it's often used as a dietary calcium supplement, it can also be used as a preservative or color retainer.

Our next ingredient is dicalcium phosphate. Dicalcium phosphate (misnomer for dibasic calcium phosphate) is commonly used in pet food and treats as a dietary calcium supplement. It can also be found in breakfast cereals, enriched flour, noodle products, pharmaceutical tablets, and toothpastes.

iodized salt is the next ingredient in this recipe. Iodized salt is simply table salt mixed with very small amounts of iodine-containing salt. Iodine is an important natural element required by dogs to maintain good health.

Next on the list is potassium chloride. Potassium chloride is a potassium supplement.

The next ingredient in this recipe is iron oxide color. Iron oxide is an FDA approved natural food coloring agent. It's commonly found in rusting metal and provides a reddish-brown color.

We believe food colorants are unnecessary ingredients in dog food. Other than potential harm, food colorants do not provide any nutritional value. These type of ingredients are used only to make the food look appealing to humans.

Next we have taurine, which is an amino acid. As with other amino acids, taurine is required for the proper functioning of the body.

The next ingredient is vitamin E supplement. Vitamin E is an essential vitamin required by dogs.

The remaining ingredients in this Hill's Science Diet Small and Toy Adult Light recipe are unlikely to affect the overall rating of the product.

Our analysis of the ingredients show that this product derives a considerable amount of protein from non-meat ingredients. This is an undesirable property because plant based protein often lacks many of the necessary amino acids required by dogs. This property is typically found in lower quality products.

Final Thoughts

In summary, we recognize that this product does not contain any artificial colors, artificial preservatives, or anonymous meat ingredients.

The official PawDiet rating for Hill's Science Diet Small and Toy Adult Light With Liver is 2.0 out of 5.